The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1887-02-19
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Hunting as an illustration of the Truths
OF the 0opeI.


He said In our day, hunting Is a
sport; but in the lands and the times
invested with wild beasts, IL was !.
matter of life and death with the peo-
pie. II was very different from going
out on sunshiny afternoon with
patent breech-loader, 10 shoot reed
birds on the flats, when Pollux and
Achilles and Diomedes went out TO
clear the land OF lions and tigers and
bears. My text sets forth Nimrod as
hero, when il presents him with broad
shoulders, and shaggy apparel and sun
Drowned face, and arm punched with
muscle-"a mighty hunter before the
Lord"
/ think he used the bow and the ar
row with great success practicing ar
cherry.
have thought IL ID is such grand
thing and such brave thing to clear
wild beasts out Of country, If IL Is
not a better and Drawer thing TO hunt
down and destroy those great evils of
society that are stalking the land with
fierce eye and bloody paw, and sharp
tnsk and quick spring. / have won
dered ii there Is not such a thing as
gospel hunting, by those who hale been
dying from the truth may be captured
for God and heaven.
Again, II you want 10 be skillful In
spiritful hunting ycu must hunt in UNI
frequented and secluded places. Why
does the hunter go three or four days
in the Pennsylvania forests or over
Raquette Lake into the wilds OF the
Adirondacks? IL is the only way TO
do. The deer are shy, and one ..bang"
of the gun clears the forset. From the
California stage you see as you go over
the plains, here and there coyote
trotting along, almost within range of
the gun sometimes quite within range
OF IL. No one cares for that; it is
worthless. The good game is hidden
and secluded. Every hunter knows
that.
So, many of the souls that will be of
most worth for Christ. and of most
value TO the Church, are secluded.
They do not come in your way. You
will have TO go where they are. Yon
der they are down in that cellar. yon-
der they are up in that garrett Far
away from the door Of any church the
gospel arrow has not been pointed at
them. The tract distributor and the
city missionary sometimes just catch
glimpse Of them as hunter through
the trees gets momentary sight OF a
partridge or roebuck.
The trouble is we are waiting for the
game TO come TO us. We are not good
hunters. We are standing in Scher-
merhern street, expecting that the
timid antelope will come up and eat
out of our hand. We are expecting
that the prairie fowl will light on our
church steeple. IL is not their habit.
III the Church should wait 100000
of years for the world To come in and
be saved, il will wait In vain. The
world will not come.
What the Church wants now Is to
lift their feet from damask ottomans
and put them in the stirrups. We
want a pulpit on wheels. The Church
wants not so much cushions as IL wants
saddle bags and arrows. We have got
TO put aside the gown and the kid
gloves and put on the hunting shirt.
We have been fishing so long in the
brooks that run under the shadow of
the Church that the fish know us,
and they avoid the hook and escape as
soon as we come To the bank, while
yonder Is Upper Saranac and Big Tup-
per's Lake, where the first swing of
the gospel net would break II for the
multitude of fishes.
There is outside work to be done,
What Is that | see in the backwoods!
IL Is tent. The hunters have made
clearing and camped out What do
they care III they have wet feet, or
have nothing but a pine branch for a
pillow, or for the northeast storm? IL
moose in the darkness steps into the
lake to drink they hear IL right away.
III loon cry In the midnight they hear
1t. So In the service Of God we have
exposed work. We have got TO camp
out and rough It, We are putting all
our care on the 10000 people OF
Brooklyn, who, they say, come u
church. What are we doing for the
100000 that do not conner Have they
no soulsg Are they sinless that they
need no pardong Are there no dead In
their houses that they need no com
fortf Are they cut of from God, 10
go into eternity--no wing to bear
them, no light TO cheer them. no wei.
come 10 greet themg
hear to-day surging mp from the
lower depths Of Brooklyn a groan
that comes through our Christian as